This course for international school staff explores how to teach the varieties of English that multilingual learners need to succeed academically. By better understanding what academic English looks like in different contexts, you will be better able to plan language support for learners across the curriculum. You will learn how to identify the language demands of the curriculum and decide on the most suitable strategies to support learners in using this language.
The course will address the following questions:
- What do we mean when we talk about “language for learning” and “academic English”?
- What are the differences between social and academic language and how can we make these clearer to students?
- What features of academic English pose problems for multilingual learners and how can we support them to use these features more accurately?
- How do we choose which language to teach our multilingual learners?
- What techniques and activities can be used to teach new, curriculum-focused language?
Who is this course for?
Primary and secondary practitioners, including:
- Subject specialists and class teachers who work with EAL learners.
- EAL teachers.
- Teaching assistants.
- Heads of EAL or EAL co-ordinators.
Please note: This course is for international participants only. Please click here to view our upcoming online courses for those living and working in the UK.
Course structure:
Module 1:
Pre-webinar online tasks, completed at your own pace over a one-week period.
You will:
- Explore some of the core concepts of language for learning, the language continuum, and look at some strategies for helping learners develop a formal register.
- Consider the role of standard English(es) in the classroom.
- Explore some strategies that can support your learners to learn academic English.
Time commitment: minimum of 2 hours.
Module 2:
Live interactive webinar with the course tutors:
- Primary: 21 January 2026, 10:30 UK time (UTC +0).
- Secondary: 22 January 2026, 10:30 UK time (UTC +0).
You will:
- Consider some of the language functions that are specific to your subject area or age group.
- Learn about a possible planning framework to help integrate academic language into lessons.
Time commitment: 1 hour.
Module 3:
Final project to implement learning from the course, followed by tutor feedback. You will apply what you have learned in modules 1 and 2 by identifying the content and language you will need to teach your multilingual learners in an upcoming lesson and selecting strategies/tasks to help support these learners use the language required for the selected lesson.
Time commitment: minimum of 2 hours.
Why learn with us?
- The three online modules are designed to work around the busy lives of professionals in international schools.
- With five hours of online study over a five-week period, this course enables you to work at a manageable pace with plenty of time to process course content and apply relevant insights to your context.
- The course is designed to be highly interactive and collaborative, with opportunities to work with other course participants, course tutors and course material.
- Module 2 consists of a live webinar with opportunities to ask questions and share good practice in real time.
- A certificate will be awarded for successful completion of the course.
- Tickets are available for both primary and secondary practitioners in international schools.
Tutors
All our tutors are experienced teacher educators with substantial experience of teaching and assessing multilingual learners in relevant contexts. Tutors are trained e-moderators and offer friendly, practical specialist support to all participants throughout the course.
Ticket sales end 6 January 2026, 16:00 UK time (UTC +0).
Important notice: There are only two websites authorised to promote and take bookings for this event run by The Bell Foundation. These are: The Bell Foundation’s website and Eventbrite. Please do not book, or express interest in, this event through any other website.
